If you have a high school or college graduate this year, it’s time to think about a gift. Sometimes, the occasion seems so momentous (It is!) that we are paralyzed trying to come up with just the right gift.

The truth is that your student will probably be pleased with anything you choose to give them to mark this special occasion. And you know your student better than anyone else, so you’re the best person to make the decision.

But in case your creativity needs a jump-start, we’ve put together several lists of suggestions to get you started.  Check out the lists below and then let your own imagination take off.

And maybe you’ll want to gift something to yourself as well. After all, this is a big event in your life as well.

Congratulations!

Check our these collections!

Gift Ideas for Your College Graduate

Gift Ideas for Your High School Graduate

Beyond Bedding and Mini-Fridges: 12 Dorm Furnishings You May Not Have Thought Of

10 Non-Essentials (But Fun!) for Your Student’s Dorm Room

7 Gift Books for Your College (or soon to be college) Student

And don’t forget to check out our holiday gift suggestions as well. Many of them would also make great graduation gifts.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Your Student – 2021

Over 100 Holiday Gift Ideas for Your College Student

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.

Dr. Aviva Legatt’s book Get Real and Get In: How to Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Being Your Authentic Self is somewhat unique as a ”how to get into college” book of advice. Dr. Legatt is straight with students from the beginning — she cannot tell you how to get in because there is no formula.

But the message of this book is an essential one and is also clear. ”I wrote this book because I want you to STOP TRYING TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION and to start living for yourself.” It’s the authenticity part of the title that can, in the long run, make more difference for your student than getting into any particular college. Once again, Legatt is clear. It is impossible to tell someone how to be authentic because then trying to do that would not be authentic. Once a student (and their parents) understands this paradox, it can free them to be themselves.

Read more

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students. There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.

The Greatest College Health Guide You Never Knew You Needed by Jill and Dave Henry is subtitled How to Manage Food, Booze, Stress, Sex, Sleep, and Exercise on Campus. That covers a lot of ground! Many students take their health, and all that it entails, for granted. This book will help them understand how to improve and maintain their health and how better health can lay the foundation for their success.

Read more

It’s that time of year again. We’re all hoping that the holidays will be at least a little more normal this year. We’re thinking about family and friends and we’re thinking about gifts. Because of shipping issues, the suggestion this year is that if you’re ordering gifts online, do it early.  So it’s not too early to put on your thinking cap!

If you have a college student, or an about-to-be college student, you may be searching for some ideas for useful or fun gifts. There’s so much to choose from!

You know your student best, and can tap into interests and needs, but we’d like to offer some suggestions that may stimulate your imagination.

We have fifteen new suggestions for 2021 to add to our earlier suggestions.  Don’t stop here! Check out our Gift Suggestions tab for over 100 additional suggestions!  We guarantee you’ll find something for everyone there!

Check out our ideas, and then let your own creativity take over!  If you have additional suggestions, share them in the comments! Let’s make this a community project!

Read more

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.

Having worked in higher education for nearly forty years, and having put three daughters through college, I thought I understood how colleges work. After reading Ron Lieber’s most recent book The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make, I realized how little I knew about the complexity and inner workings of admission and financial aid.

This book might have entirely changed the way our family approached admission and tuition had it been available when we needed it. Every family with a child considering college should read this book — especially if your child has their sights set on a more competitive or expensive school.

Read more

From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.  There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years.  We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.

Adulting Made Easy: Things Someone Should Have Told You About Getting Your Grown-up Act Together by Amanda Morin provides the perfect bridge for students into their adult life. Although many college students may think they know what they need to know to make life work, this book will show them how much they still have to learn. And fortunately, Amanda Morin provides enough humor, practical tips, and stories about her own failures that students will keep reading. For those students who already know they don’t know enough about how to survive in the ”real world,” this book will be a welcome guidebook.

Read more